The Cannanes, ‘Zone (Dr. Version Remix)’ – Free MP3 Download

Stephen Hermann has at least one thing in common with Kurt Cobain, and that thing is a fondness for the Cannanes. Cobain wrote about the Aussie indie-pop duo in his journals, and Hermann has twice worked with the group, producing their most recent full-length in 2002 and returning for the 'Small Batch' EP, released earlier this year.

But Hermann isn't content to simply record the Cannanes' jams. Working under the name Dr. Version, the man behind New York City's Explosion Robinson sound production company joins fellow knob twiddler Richard Phoe in reworking the band's tunes for 'Small Batch Remixes,' which dropped this week.

Hermann is a longtime fan of Jamaican dub -- a reggae subgenre whose freest thinkers create endless variations, or "versions," of existing rhythms, adding their own spacey, trippy touches -- and here, he gives the 'Zone' a bass-heavy skanking feel just right for rocking an outdoor block party.

"I use the studio as a member of the band," Hermann tells Diffuser.fm. "I use delays, effects, and analog tape saturation to mangle the sounds and push the boundaries of the concept of a remix."